Real life confessions—

1. I always forget to eat my vegetables.
2. My husband ate 3 servings of this when I made it in California last month.
3. I had never watched an episode of the Bachelor/Bachelorette until last night.
4. I am secretly in love with this pistachio ice cream, like have to leave the house so I don’t eat it all.
5. I also am in love with this charcoal cleansing bar—my face says thank you.

Well that was fun, we should do real life confessions more often! Yes? No? …maybe so?

Ok moving onto this salad now! Last month while spending some time in California with my hubs and family, I was able to try out some new recipes on them! Well, my husband literally ate three servings of this salad, so I can say it comes highly recommended.  It needed a few tweaks, so I got back to work in my kitchen this week and perfected it for you all!

I will say, these spicy, crunchy roasted cashews take the cake so to speak.  You will not be able to stop eating them!  I highly recommend making a double batch…seriously toppings make eating salads so fun!

Now, PLEASE do not be overwhelmed by the length of ingredients to make this salad.  You probably will already have most of them in your kitchen and if not, these are truly kitchen staples so you will use them often!

Bonus tip—make the chicken marinade and the salad dressing at the same time and you will save a lot of time!

Gluten Free & Paleo Thai Chicken Chop Salad

serves 4-6

Chicken Marinade

• 2 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 fresh lime, juiced
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• few cracks fresh black pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Salad Dressing

• 1/3 cup olive oil or avocado oil*
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 2 tbsp creamy almond butter
• 1 fresh lime, juiced
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1-2 spicy Thai red chili**, stem & seeds removed
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt

*I actually love mixing these two oils for the best taste!

**Thai chilis can vary in spice factor, so I recommend starting with 1/2 chili and working your way up, I tend to like the spice but you can always add more but you can’t subtract!

Salad Ingredients

• 1/2 green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 mango, thinly sliced
• 1 batch Spicy, Crunchy Roasted Cashews

Directions

• Whisk together the chicken marinade.  Place the chicken in a large sealable bag and drizzle the marinade on top.  Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours but up to 24.
• Prepare your salad dressing by adding all ingredients to a blender and blend till smooth.  (Note: since the ingredients are so similar to the chicken marinade, I like to prepare both at the same time).
• Warm your grill to medium heat.
• Add your cabbages, carrots and green onions to a large serving bowl.  Toss together with the dressing, adding little by little so that you get the right amount of dressing.
• Grill the chicken for about 4 minutes per side, for a total of 8 minutes—your cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken and heat of your grill, so always use your judgment.  Thinly slice the chicken.
• Top your tossed salad with grilled chicken, cilantro, mango and the spicy roasted cashews.